Supporters attend a rally in Washington on Wednesday endorsing the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court. The full U.S. Senate is expected to vote on her nomination as early as today.

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Wednesday sought to wrest political advantage from widespread Republican opposition to Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, contending, as the chamber prepares to decide on her confirmation as early as today, that the GOP is perpetuating partisanship and thwarting the interests of Latino voters.

On the cusp of their first Supreme Court confirmation victory in 15 years, Democrats and their supporters brushed aside Republicans’ arguments: that Sotomayor is a judge biased by her gender and ethnicity who has sometimes been on the wrong side of the law.

“To say you cannot vote for this qualified Latina sends a message to us, as a community, that we will not forget,” Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., said at a midday rally, referring to the three-quarters of Republican senators who have said they will vote against Sotomayor.

With the outcome of the Senate’s vote pre-ordained, senators of both political parties used a long day and night of debate over President Barack Obama’s first Supreme Court nominee to try to advance their larger goals.

Democrats, who hold a substantial Senate majority and are united behind the nominee, appeared at events on Capitol Hill with Latino and civil rights leaders. Republicans, anticipating defeat, were more muted off the Senate floor. But during the debate, GOP senators repeatedly emphasized their support for gun and private-property rights — and, in broader strokes, sought to deter President Barack Obama from choosing liberals to fill future court vacancies.

On Wednesday, Sen. Christopher Bond of Missouri became the seventh Republican to say that he would support Sotomayor. Speaking on the Senate floor, Bond said that Sotomayor “has accomplishments and qualities that have always meant Senate confirmation.”

At the midday rally with leaders of a spectrum of civil rights organizations, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., a former prosecutor who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said: “Our Republican colleagues have missed a great opportunity today. We could all be celebrating the historic confirmation of the first Latino justice of the Supreme Court. Instead, Republicans are fighting for right-wing control of the court.”

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who leads the GOP Senate campaign committee, disputed the suggestion his party would suffer from opposing Sotomayor, telling reporters that Latino voters in next year’s mid-term elections would be influenced more by the economy than by the Supreme Court vote.

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